In this world there are a million different cookbooks that teach you how to make millions of fabulous dishes, as well as numerous high quality restaurants that spoil you with their extravagant meals. But if I had to pick something to relate to the significance of food in my life, I would have to include something different than all of those aforementioned things. Here at this food magazine, we can sometimes get too carried away with the food aspect of the meal, and forget that the people who we share our meals with is just as significant as the food we eat. As a child I was blessed to be able to go out to eat at some top quality restaurants with my family, and enjoyed those memories thoroughly. Looking back on my dining experiences as a child, I see that great food was not the only reason I liked to go out to eat so much, as the family time that was shared at these restaurants was priceless.
When I was younger, growing up in New York, my Dad was often busy with work, forcing him to work late. He also spent lots of time traveling for his job, going to conferences to many places I had never heard of. This meant that my mother, brother, and I were often playing games or watching movies without our Dad, as he was too busy with work. Most of the times that the four of us spent together was in the form of eating out, as he often came home too late to eat dinner at the same time as us when we were at home. That’s why I always looked forward to when we could find an excuse (it didn’t take much) to go to our favorite restaurants and catch up with each other, of course enjoying our favorite dishes along the way. Since this is a food magazine, I’m sure one or two readers are interested in the aforementioned ‘favorite dishes,’ so I will take some time to describe some of my favorites.
When I was younger there were really two restaurants that my family and I really, truly loved. The first was a superb Italian restaurant called Almalfi. It offered some of the best pasta dishes I have ever had, in addition to fabulous pizzas, and salads. As with all great Italian restaurants the best part of the meal was the bread, I could have easily downed two or three baskets by myself from the age of ten. I ate at the restaurant with my family from such an early age that I have no idea when we started going, or even when I found my favorite dish. For as long as I can remember, every time we went to Almalfi I ordered the Penne Vodka. The dish was bubbling with warmth and was exceptionally creamy. I loved how the taste stayed in my mouth long after the meal was finished. I always skipped dessert for fear of losing the bliss that the taste of the Penne Vodka provided for me. I have ordered the same dish at many an Italian restaurant, but none can compare to how the one from Almalfi tasted.
The second fabulous restaurant that was our other favorite was a Japanese steakhouse named Gasho. Because this restaurant was more expensive, we only went there on special occasions such as birthdays and the last day of school. Though we did not go there very often it was worth the wait every time. Not only did we enjoy the best food we had ever tasted but we were also treated to an entertaining show by the highly skilled hibachi chefs as we watched the food get cooked right in front of our eyes. Everything on the menu was fantastic but my favorite dish by far was the delicious one which paired a lobster tail with a filet. In addition to your entrée they also served a soup, a salad with a delicious mustard based sauce, a shrimp appetizer (great for me because I loved shrimp and by brother didn’t so I could occasionally get more), rice, and a generous portion of vegetables, while we watched in all get cooked in front of us. Since all of your food came out one by one, by far the hardest part about eating there was trying to wait until all of your food was ready before you started to dig in. However, it’s not like you ever left that place hungry, I certainly never did, there were times when we ate at Gasho on a birthday night and returned so full that we did not eat our birthday cake until the next day.
Picture of the soup served at Gasho*.
I think that the fact that my family and I dined out together was very important to me. I believe all families should find something to do together in order to tighten the bonds between them, and for us it was dining. Even though we didn’t spend loads of time together, the time we spent eating out together ensured we still had close ties. For between one and two hours on a long awaited night, I would look forward to us all being together and talking and laughing and eating. For some time I could forget about my real problems and replace them with easier ones like deciding what dish to order, something which I clearly could not make a bad decision about.
Many people like going out to eat, but if they are anything like me, they go for more than the food. They would also go to spend time with the people whose company they enjoy, and combining it with eating exceptional food, two truly wonderful things to do. If I were asked about the significance of food in my life I could only come up with this answer. It helped me spend more time with my family which is, for me, a payoff greater or at least equal to the joy from consuming the food itself.
*Image taken from http://www.robricc.com/uploaded_images/gasho_soup-737209.jpg Date accessed September 4th 2009.
When I was younger, growing up in New York, my Dad was often busy with work, forcing him to work late. He also spent lots of time traveling for his job, going to conferences to many places I had never heard of. This meant that my mother, brother, and I were often playing games or watching movies without our Dad, as he was too busy with work. Most of the times that the four of us spent together was in the form of eating out, as he often came home too late to eat dinner at the same time as us when we were at home. That’s why I always looked forward to when we could find an excuse (it didn’t take much) to go to our favorite restaurants and catch up with each other, of course enjoying our favorite dishes along the way. Since this is a food magazine, I’m sure one or two readers are interested in the aforementioned ‘favorite dishes,’ so I will take some time to describe some of my favorites.
When I was younger there were really two restaurants that my family and I really, truly loved. The first was a superb Italian restaurant called Almalfi. It offered some of the best pasta dishes I have ever had, in addition to fabulous pizzas, and salads. As with all great Italian restaurants the best part of the meal was the bread, I could have easily downed two or three baskets by myself from the age of ten. I ate at the restaurant with my family from such an early age that I have no idea when we started going, or even when I found my favorite dish. For as long as I can remember, every time we went to Almalfi I ordered the Penne Vodka. The dish was bubbling with warmth and was exceptionally creamy. I loved how the taste stayed in my mouth long after the meal was finished. I always skipped dessert for fear of losing the bliss that the taste of the Penne Vodka provided for me. I have ordered the same dish at many an Italian restaurant, but none can compare to how the one from Almalfi tasted.
The second fabulous restaurant that was our other favorite was a Japanese steakhouse named Gasho. Because this restaurant was more expensive, we only went there on special occasions such as birthdays and the last day of school. Though we did not go there very often it was worth the wait every time. Not only did we enjoy the best food we had ever tasted but we were also treated to an entertaining show by the highly skilled hibachi chefs as we watched the food get cooked right in front of our eyes. Everything on the menu was fantastic but my favorite dish by far was the delicious one which paired a lobster tail with a filet. In addition to your entrée they also served a soup, a salad with a delicious mustard based sauce, a shrimp appetizer (great for me because I loved shrimp and by brother didn’t so I could occasionally get more), rice, and a generous portion of vegetables, while we watched in all get cooked in front of us. Since all of your food came out one by one, by far the hardest part about eating there was trying to wait until all of your food was ready before you started to dig in. However, it’s not like you ever left that place hungry, I certainly never did, there were times when we ate at Gasho on a birthday night and returned so full that we did not eat our birthday cake until the next day.
Picture of the soup served at Gasho*.I think that the fact that my family and I dined out together was very important to me. I believe all families should find something to do together in order to tighten the bonds between them, and for us it was dining. Even though we didn’t spend loads of time together, the time we spent eating out together ensured we still had close ties. For between one and two hours on a long awaited night, I would look forward to us all being together and talking and laughing and eating. For some time I could forget about my real problems and replace them with easier ones like deciding what dish to order, something which I clearly could not make a bad decision about.
Many people like going out to eat, but if they are anything like me, they go for more than the food. They would also go to spend time with the people whose company they enjoy, and combining it with eating exceptional food, two truly wonderful things to do. If I were asked about the significance of food in my life I could only come up with this answer. It helped me spend more time with my family which is, for me, a payoff greater or at least equal to the joy from consuming the food itself.
*Image taken from http://www.robricc.com/uploaded_images/gasho_soup-737209.jpg Date accessed September 4th 2009.
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